Looking up at the roof of the First Baptist Church of Lewisburg ave Lee McCray a chill. A year
of investigation tracing the life of her
great-grandfather, Edward McKnight
Brawley, Class of 1875, M1878,
Bucknell’s first black alumnus, had
led her to this same church where
her ancestor was ordained a Baptist
minister 140 years ago.

“To think that he stood in the samesanctuary looking up at this samewood…” McCray says. “That was prettyemotional — to see what he could see andwalk where he walked on this campus.”McCray is one of 10 Brawleydescendants who joined Bucknell’sBlack Alumni Association (BAA) duringHomecoming Weekend to celebrate140 years of African-American historyat Bucknell. The weekend of eventsincluded a Friday evening reception,pre- and post-football game barbequeand the unveiling of a timeline of thathistory created by Bucknell’s GriotInstitute for Africana Studies.

“In 1875, slavery only just ended,and there were a lot of people forwhom a college education was not evena possibility,” says Allison Alexander,Brawley’s great-great-granddaughter.“To think he paved the way for African-Americans not only here at Bucknell,but in general, is a source of pride forFrom the start, Brawley’s story isremarkable. Born in 1851 to free parentsin Charleston, S.C., he came to Bucknellafter studying for three months atHoward University, where he was thefirst full-time theology student.

Seeking a four-year degree, Brawley
transferred to Bucknell (then the
University at Lewisburg) on the advice
of one Rev. B. Griffith. Griffith’s wife
provided a scholarship, and Brawley
also supported himself by teaching
vocal music and preaching.

“Few other schools would have
allowed a person of color to enroll, but
the University opened its doors and
provided him with an education — and
it wasn’t a second-class education,” says
Cynthia Mason-Posey ’78, president
of the BAA. “This tells me that this
University has always been progressive.”
Brawley studied theology privately
alongside his Bucknell courses and
preached at First Baptist Church, the
same congregation that founded the
University. Upon his graduation in 1875,
a council of 35 ordained him as a minister.

Degree and ordination in hand,Brawley advanced to an even moreextraordinary career in theology andeducation. He organized BaptistSunday schools in South CarolinaUniversity. He also helped found andbecame the first president of MorrisCollege in Sumter, S.C. He receiveda master’s in course from Bucknell in1878 and an honorary doctor of divinitydegree from the University of Louisvillein 1885. Later in life, Brawley was aminister in Durham, N.C., and aprofessor of Old Testament historyand evangelism at Shaw University inRaleigh, N.C.